Broccoli Salad with Avocado Dressing

I always feel weird sharing a salad recipe as it’s more of a suggestion list than an actual ingredient list. For me, salads are pretty much whatever you have on hand tossed together.

However, I am sharing this “recipe” as I really liked how the idea of using a broccoli base turned out. Just a bit different from the usual lettuce or spinach base. Plus, with Memorial Day outdoor BBQs coming up, you don’t have to worry about the broccoli becoming soggy and whatnot 🙂

Broccoli Salad with Avocado Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 of an avocado

3 tbsp plain yogurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

lemon zest

salt

______

2 heads raw broccoli, cut into very small florets

1/2 of a red onion, finely diced 

1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon

1/2 cup sliced or chopped almonds

1/2 cup carrots, grated

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

In a food processor, blend together avocado, yogurt, lemon juice, zest, and salt. Place dressing in fridge to chill. Add remaining ingredients into a large bowl and toss. Before serving, mix in avocado dressing.

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Avocado Lime Ice Cream

By now, everyone knows about banana “ice cream.” So amazingly tasty, right? Well, I decided to play with this concept and make avocado “ice cream!” The word that comes to my mind every time I have this is “refreshing.” So, so refreshing. Like biting into key lime pie. Just in time for summer too. All last weekend, my dad and I were outside planting this year’s garden. After some sunburn, soreness, and sweat, I so needed a pick-me-up. Thankfully, I had the foresight to put some avocados in the freezer that morning 🙂

Avocado Lime Ice Cream 

Ingredients:

2 avocados

3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp coconut or almond milk (dairy milk would work too)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

Directions: 

Cut the avocados into pieces and freeze for at least 6 hours. Afterward, combine the frozen avocados in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. To make it look more “ice cream-ish,” serve with a ice cream scooper.

 

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Remember in the last post, when I said I had no New Years Resolutions?

I completely take it back.

My resolution? Learn to take better pictures! ‘Cause this picture does not do this treat justice. Although this may appear as muck, rest assure that it’s a piece of muck from heaven. I don’t know why I haven’t posted this until now, because I’ve had this recipe from waaayyy before I even started this blog.

Every week, my dad buys a bundle of avocados. Due to the holidays, however, we have been lagging behind with eating them. As a result, my kitchen has accumulated 10 avocados- all ready to be devoured. Translation: experiment time for me! I already made 2 batches of guacamole for the post-holiday party at the program I volunteer at. Plus, I whipped up this Chocolate Avocado Mousse. Unlike the traditional chocolate mousse, there’s no butter, sugar, or cream. Instead, it’s filled with the healthy fat of an avocado. A guilt-looking, but guilt-less treat!

Now, in the next post, don’t be surprised if you see more avocados 🙂

Chocolate Avocado Mousse 

Ingredients:

2 Avocados

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

1/4 cup pure organic maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

In a bowl, mash the avocados together (using a food processor will get all the lumps out, but if you don’t mind them, you can use a fork or potato masher). Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. Place in the fridge for about 3 hours before digging in 🙂

Additional Note: In my opinion, the mousse tastes even better the longer it chills. So, if you can (this is hard for me), save some for the next day!

Baked Barbecue-Avocado Nuggets

When I made my Baked BBQ Onion Rings a couple weeks ago, I ended up with leftover BBQ mixture and panko crumbs. And so, I looked around for other foods I could coat. Thus, the BBQ- avocado nugget was born! Crispy outside and nice, soft inside. I swear, it tastes better than a chicken nugget. I even tricked my brother with them. Coming into the kitchen, he completely ignored my avocado-BBQ sauce-panko station and zoned in on the what he assumed were chicken nuggets (I blame video games). After he took a bite and I told him what they really were, he glared at me… then took another! Win! I finally got my brother to eat an avocado! Now I just have to disguise every vegetable he eats 🙂

Baked Barbecue-Avocado Nuggets

Ingredients:

4 avocados

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

2/3 cup barbecue sauce (I used cajun-seasoned sauce)

1 egg

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 and 1/3 cup panko crumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spay a pan with oil. Cut up avocados into small nugget-sized pieces. In a shallow bowl, combine and mix flour, barbecue sauce, egg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. In another shallow bowl, place and spread out panko crumbs. Using your hands or tongs, take one avocado nugget and place it in the barbecue sauce mixture. Transfer to panko bowl and completely cover with crumbs. Place on the baking pan. Repeat with every nugget. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Convincing? I think so.

Avocado Sauce

Avocados! Yum! One of the best foods ever. Both for tastebuds and health. They are also super easy to make a meal with. This time: avocado sauce. Soooo creamy, yet involving no cream, flour, and/or butter at all.

Avocado Sauce 

Ingredients:

6-8 oz box whole wheat pasta

1 avocado

2 garlic cloves

1/4 onion

1 tbsp basil

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp cilantro

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 tbsp lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

It doesn’t get much easier than this. Cook the pasta according to box instructions and set aside. Place all other ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Pour and mix in the avocado sauce with the pasta.